Sweep and clear activities continue in Syria's Afrin

AFRIN, Syria / ANKARA, Turkey

Turkish military and Free Syrian Army (FSA) continued sweep and clear activities in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region.

Teams of experts locate the explosives, planted by YPG/PKK terrorists, via detectors on the farmlands and the roadsides in Afrin, which was cleared of the terrorists on March 18, as part of Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch.

On Jan. 20 Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

Since the launch of the operation, a total of 4,540 terrorists have been neutralized, according to the Turkish army.

“We destroy the explosives planted by the PKK on lands and city entrances,” Abu Sari, a Free Syrian Army commander, told Anadolu Agency.

While conducting sweep and clear activities, teams show an utmost care for the safety of civilians. “Our teams show a great effort to clean these mines, which risk the lives of civilians,” Sari said.

He said 42 explosives were destroyed over the last four days.

Efforts are also continued on the mountains surrounding Afrin’s northwest Rajo district, where the terrorists are believed to be hiding.

Reporting by Omer Koparan and Adham Kako:Writing by Sena Guler